So many times, the third film of a franchise can either make or break the series. For example, the third of the original “Superman” movies (with Richard Pryor as the villain) set the series reeling (and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” destroyed it). The same can be said for the “Shrek,” “Ice Age,” “Spider-Man”…
There is certainly something to be said for the wonderful claymation and quirky British comedy of The Pirates! Band Of Misfits, the by-product of such other animated films as “Flushed Away,” “Chicken Run” and the “Wallace and Gromit” series. I have always appreciated this technique because it shows that the old-style way of making this…
Santa Claus brings more than gifts to kids during Christmas. The Easter Bunny offers up more than jelly beans and eggs at Easter. The Tooth Fairy does more than swap teeth for cash. They, among others (Sandman, Jack Frost), are the immortal Guardians whose purpose is to the protect the beliefs and imaginations of the…
Count Dracula is an enterprising fellow. He runs the Hotel Transylvania — the resort for monsters and their families to come to to kick back and relax. But relaxation isn’t in the cards for Dracula when an ordinary human stumbles upon his hidden retreat and takes a liking to his 118 year-old daughter, Mavis. The…
Of all the problems you want in your village, probably the last one would be having dragons destroying your crops and livestock. In How to Train Your Dragon, a wonderful animated film from DreamWorks Animation studio based on a novel by Cressida Cowell, these pesky creatures ignore the no-fly zone and create havoc in the…
Not having been the biggest fan of the previous three Ice Age movies, I can’t say I’m overly enthusiastic about the fourth, Ice Age: Continental Drift. The “endearing” prehistoric sloth, mammoth, sabertooth tiger and squirrel find themselves on a seafaring adventure — this time around when an earthquake causes the continents to break and drift…
According to Japanese anime director Makoto Shinkai, his latest film Children who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below is a study of “how people are connected” and the relationship between individuals. Although the film is designed primarily for a young audience, adult themes of love and loss abound in its story of mourning lovers attempting…
